Death sentence in Sparks killing overturned

CARSON CITY, Nev. 
A divided Nevada Supreme Court overturned the death sentence and ordered a new penalty hearing Wednesday for one of three men convicted of robbing and killing a paraplegic woman in Sparks.

Justices unanimously upheld the first-degree murder conviction of Pedro Rodriguez for the 1998 murder of Kimberly Fondy. But in a 4-3 split, they differed on whether the death penalty was appropriate.

The majority determined Rodriguez's trial lawyer was ineffective because he didn't do enough to find witnesses and present mitigating evidence about his client's background during the penalty phase.

While noting that Rodriguez was uncooperative with his lawyer and investigators, the majority concluded "that the scope of trial counsel's investigation in this case fell short of the prevailing professional standards at the time."

Justices Michael Douglas, Nancy Saitta, Michael Cherry and Mark Gibbons signed the majority opinion and remanded the case to Washoe District Judge Brent Adams in Reno for a new penalty hearing.

Fondy, 33, was paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. According to court records, Rodriguez and two others – Robert Servin and Brian Lee Allen – ingested methamphetamine and went to her house because they believed she had money in a safe.

Allen, who testified against his accomplices, was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Servin, who was tried with Rodriguez, also was sentenced to death, but his penalty was later overturned by the state Supreme Court and he is now serving life without parole.

Testimony showed Rodriguez, who was 19 at the time, knew the victim and orchestrated the robbery that led to her murder, but was not the shooter.

Fondy was shot four times. Documents also said the three bragged about dipping the bullets they used into chemicals so that the victim would die a painful death.

In a written dissent, Chief Justice James Hardesty said while some additional evidence of the defendant's abusive childhood was presented during a post-conviction hearing, it was "in the same vein as the evidence heard by the jury."

Hardesty, joined by Justices Ron Parraguirre and Kris Pickering, said he was unconvinced the penalty outcome would have been different if additional mitigating evidence was offered.